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Behavior analysis of child development
Child development in behavior analytic theory has origins in John B. Watson’s behaviorism.Watson, J.B.(1926). What the nursery has to say about instincts. In C. Murchison (Eds.) Psychologies of 1925. Worchester, MA: Clark University Press. Watson wrote extensively on child development and conducted research (see Little Albert experiment). Watson was instrumental in the modification of William James’ stream of consciousness approach to construct a stream of behavior theory.White, S.H.(1968). The learning maturation controversy: Hall to Hull. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 14, 187-196. Watson also helped bring a natural science perspective to child psychology by introducing objective research methods based on observable and measurable behavior. Following Watson’s lead, B.F. Skinner further extended this model to cover operant conditioning and verbal behavior. In doing this, Skinner's radical behaviorism focused the science on private events such as thinking and feeling and how they are shaped by interacting with the environment.Skinner, B.F. (1974). About Behaviorism. KnopfSkinner, B.F. (1953) Science and Human Behavior. New York: The Free Press Bijou (1955) was the first to bring this approach to human children. Bijou, S. W. (1955). A systematic approach to an experimental analysis of young children. Child Development, 26, 161-168.Bijou, S. W. (1957). Patterns of reinforcement and resistance to extinction in young children. Child Development, 28, 47-54Bijou, S. W. (1958). Operant extinction after fixed-interval schedules with young children. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1, 25-29. History In the 1960s, while at the University of Kansas in the home economics/family life departmentBaer, D. M. (1993). A brief, selective history of the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas: The early years. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 569-572. ,Sidney Bijou and Donald Baer began to apply behavior analytic principles to child development in an area referred to as "Behavioral Development" or "Behavior Analysis of Child Development". Skinner’s behavioral approach and Kantor’s interbehavioral approach was adopted in Bijou and Bear’s model. Bijou and Baer created a three-stage model of development (e.g., basic, foundational, and societal). In behavior analysis, the stages are neither essential nor explanatory.Rosales-Ruiz, J. & Baer, D.M.(1997).Behavioral cusps. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 533-544.http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/articles/1997/jaba-30-03-0533.pdf They posit that these stages are socially determined, although behavior analysts tend to focus much more on change points or cusps rather than stages.Bosch, S. and Hixson, M.D. (2004). The Final Piece to a Complete Science of Behavior: Behavior Development and Behavioral Cusps. The Behavior Analyst Today, 5.(3), 244-253 BAO While not all cusps result in a stage change, all stage changes do involve cusps.Commons, M. L., & Richards, F. A. (1995). Behavior analytic approach to dialectics of stage performance and stage change.Behavioral Development, 5(2), 7–9. In the behavioral model, development is represented as behavior change and is dependent on a combination of factors including the level/kind of stimulation, behavioral function, and the learning/genetic history of the organism.Baer, D.M. (1982). Behavior analysis and developmental psychology: Discussant comments. Human Development, 25, 357-361 This model is closer to Skinner’s model than Watson'sGerwitz, J.L. & Pelaez-Nogueras, M.(1992). B.F. Skinner's legacy to infant behavioral development. American Psychologist, 47(11), 1411-1422. in that it rejects the idea of a purely passive organism.Reese, H.W.(1980). A learning theory critique of the operant approach to life span development.'' Human Development, 23,'' 368-376. Behavior analysis in child development is between mechanisticReese (1986) and contextual, pragmatic approaches.Morris, E.K.(1988). Contextualism: The worldview of behavior analysis. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 46, 289-323.Schlinger, H. D. The almost blank slate: Making a case for human nurture. Skeptic, 11, 34-43. From its inception, the behavioral model has been focused on prediction and control of the developmental process.Baer, D.M. (1973). The control of developmental process: Why wait? In J.R. Nesselrode & H.W.Reese (Eds.) Life Span Developmental Psychology: Methodological Issues. Oxford,England: Academic Press Schlinger, H. D., Jr. (1995). A Behavior Analytic View of Child Development. NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers The model focuses on analysis of a behavior and then attempts to prove the analysis by synthesizing the behavior.Catania, A. C. (1998). Learning (fourth edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. The model was greatly enhanced by basic research on the matching law of choice behavior developed by Richard J. Herrnstein, especially in the study of reinforcement in the natural environment as related to antisocial behavior. As the behavioral model has become increasingly more complex and focused on metatheory,Morris, E.K. & Hursch, D.E.(1982). Behavior analysis and developmental psychology: Metatheoretical considerations. Human Development, 25, 344-349 it has become concerned with how behavior is selected over time and forms into stable patterns of responding.Reese, H.W. (2005). A Conceptual Analysis of Selectionism: Parts I and II. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 1(1), 8-16.BAO Vyse, S. (2004). Stability over time: Is behavior analysis a trait psychology? The Behavior Analyst, 27(1), 43-54. A detailed history of this model was written by Pelaez.Pelaez, M. (Ed.). (1998). Behavior analysis of development: History, theory, and research. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 24, 85–95. In 1995, Henry D. Schlinger, Jr. provided the first behavior analytic text since Bijou and Baer comprehensively showing how behavior analysis-a natural science approach to human behavior-can be used to understand existing research in child development.Schlinger, H. D., Jr. (1995). A Behavior Analytic View of Child Development. NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers In addition, the Quantitative Behavioral Developmental Model by Commons and Miller is the first behavioral theory and research to address notion similar to stage.Behavioral Development Bulletin, 13(1) Research methods The nature of the measurements is of critical importance to behavior analysts studying child development. The measurement categories can be and often are narrow such as smiling or out of seatBijou, S.W. & Baer, D.M.(1960). The laboratory-experimental study of child behavior. In P.H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in child development. (pp. 140-197). New York: Wiley. or broad response classes. The choice of issue to be studied has implications for both interval consistency and temporal stability of the measure. Gerwirtz (1969) discussed that behaviors composing "trait" should show internal consistency, temporal stability, and even situational consistency but only internal consistency would be expected for a behavior which is part of a response class.Gerirtz, J.L.(1969). Mechanisms of social learning: Some roles of stimulation and behavior in early human development. In D.A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research (pp. 57-212). Chicago: Rand McNally In addition, response characteristics can also be the basis for a scoring system. For example, Goetz and Baer (1973) were assessing the uniqueness of children's block play.Goetz, E.M. & Baer, D..(1973). Social control of form diversity and the emergence of new forms in children's blockbuilding. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 123-128. The children in the study used quite different building strategies (1) generating few, highly elaborate constructions (2) many simple construction strategies or (3) a mixture of (1) and (2). Thus a summary response score needed to be created weighing the number of responses, complexity, and uniqueness. This summary score was needed even though uniqueness was the primary focus of the study. Behavior analytic models of child development use multiple research methods to adequately answer the posed research question. Graphical representation of data is considered crucial Baer, D.M.(1977). Reviewer's comments: Just because it is relable doesn't mean you can use it. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 117-119.. Single-subject research remains the hallmark of the approach with a longitudinal study follow up. Current research is focused on integrating Single subject designs through meta-analysis to determine the effect sizes of behavioral factors in development. Lag sequential analysis has become popular for tracking the stream of behavior during observations. Increasingly groups designs have also been employed. Model construction research involves latent growth modeling to determine developmental trajectories and structural equation modeling, which determines the probabilities of venturing down specific paths. One issue in methodology that was particularly important discovery was the use of observational methods combined with lag sequential analysis to determine reinforcement in the natural setting.Snyder, J.J. & Patterson, G.R. (1986). The effects of consequences on patterns of social interaction: A quasi-experimental approach to reinforcement in the natural environment. Child Development, 57, 1257-1268. Research Contingencies, uncertainty, and attachment An infant is born helpless into an uncertain world, and from its earliest moments, must rely on its parents for many types of reinforcers such as heat, food, water and protection. The behavioral model of attachment recognizes the role of uncertainty and that infants have a limited repertoire for communicating its needs. Actions which produce responding on the parents’ part are highly valued. Because of this, contingent relationships are at the very heart of behavior analytic theory.Cavell, T. A., & Strand, P. S. (2002). Parent-Based interventions for aggressive, antisocial children:Adapting to a bilateral lens. In L. Kuczynski (Ed.), Handbook of dynamics in parent-child relations (pp. 395-419). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Gewirtz, J. L., & Peláez-Nogueras, M. (1991). The attachment metaphor and the conditioning of infant separation protests. In J. L. Gewirtz & W. M. Kurtines (Eds.), Intersections with attachment (pp. 123-144). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Patterson, G.R. (2002). The early development of coercive family processes. In J.B. Reid, G.R. Patterson, & J. Snyder, J.J. (Eds.). Antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: A Developmental analysis and model for intervention. APA Press The importance of contingency appears to be highlighted in other developmental theories;Watson, J. S. (1979). Perception of contingency as a determinant of social responsiveness. In E. B. Thoman (Ed.), Origins of the infant’s social responsiveness. In E.B. Thoman (Ed.), Origins of the infant's social responsiveness (pp. 33-64). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum however, many traditional developmental psychologists fail to recognize that contingency needs to be determined by two factors.Gerwitz, J.L. & Boyd, E.F.(1977). Experiments on mother-infant interaction underlying mutual attachment acquisition: The infant conditions the mother. In T. Alloway, P. Plinger, & L. Krames (Eds.). Attachment behavior (pp. 109-143). New York: Plenum Press These factors are not just the efficiency of the action but the efficiency of the act compared to all other acts that the infant may perform at that point. By learning these contingent relationships, infants and adults are able to function within their environment. In fact, research has shown that contingent relationships lead to more emotionally satisfying relationships. Dunst, C.J., Raab, M., Trivette, C.M., Parkey, C., Gatens, M., Wilson, L.L. French, J., Hamby, D.W.(2007). Child and Adult Social-Emotional Benefits of Response-Contingent Child Learning Opportunities. JEIBI, 4(2), 379-391. BAO As early as the 1960s, behavioral research showed that parental responsiveness toward the infant on separation predicted identified outcomes in the "stranger situation" and modified versions of this preparation.Gewirtz, J. L. (1961). A learning analysis of the effects of normal stimulation, privation, and deprivation on the acquisition of social motivation and attachment. In B. M. Foss (Ed.), Determinants of infant behaviour(pp. 213-229). New York: Wiley. In one study, six 8-10 month old infants participated in four test conditions. The study was a classic reversal design (see single-subject research) and assessed infant approach rate to a stranger. If attention was based on stranger avoidance, the infant avoided the stranger. If attention was placed on infant approach, the infant approached the stranger.Gewirtz, J., & Pelaez-Nogueras, M.(2000). Infant emotions under the positive-reinforcer control of caregiver attention and touch. In J.C. Leslie & D. Blackman (Eds.), Issues in Experimental and Applied Analysis of Human Behavior (pp. 271-291). Reno, NV: Context Press Recent meta-analytic studies of this model of attachment based on contingency found a moderate effect size, which increased to a large effect size when the quality of reinforcement was considered.Kassow, D.Z., & Dunst, C.J. (2004) Relationship between parental contingent-responsiveness and attachment outcomes. Bridges, Volume 2, Number 4, 1-17. http://www.researchtopractice.info/bridges/bridges_vol2_no4.pdf Recent research on contingencies highlights the matching qualityHerrnstein, R.J.(1961). Relative and absolute strength of responses as a function of frequency or reinforcement. Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 4, 267-272 and places it in the dyadic context.Patterson, G.R.(1984). Microsocial processes: A view from the boundary. In J. Masters (Ed.),'' Boundary areas in social and developmental psychology (pp. 43-66).'' New York: Academic Press. In addition, such studies have shown that contingencies can affect the development of both pro-social and antisocial behavior.Cavell, T. A., & Strand, P. S. (2002). Parent-Based interventions for aggressive, antisocial children:Adapting to a bilateral lens. In L. Kuczynski (Ed.), Handbook of dynamics in parent-child relations (pp. 395-419). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Wahler, R. G., Herring, M., & Edwards, M. (2001). Co-regulation of balance between children's prosocial approaches and acts of compliance: A pathway to mother-child cooperation? Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 473-478.Wahler, R. G., & Bellamy, A. (1997). Generating reciprocity with conduct problem children and their mothers: The effectiveness of compliance teaching and responsive parenting. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (Special issue: Reciprocity and Bidirectionality), 14(4), 549-564.Wahler, R. G., & Smith, G. G. (1999). Effective parenting as the integration of lessons and dialogue.Journal of Child and Family Studies, 8, 135-149. Training parents to become sensitive to the function of children's behavior and to respond behaviorally has resulted in a large effect size. Dunst,C.J., & Kassow, D.Z.(2004).Characteristics of interventions promoting parental sensitivity to child behavior. Bridges 2, 1-17 Thus, attachment problems seem to be related to parents inadvertently reinforcing children to protest on separation. Gewirtz, J. L., & Peláez-Nogueras, M. (1991). The attachment metaphor and the conditioning of infant separation protests. In J. L. Gewirtz & W. M. Kurtines (Eds.), Intersections with attachment (pp. 123-144). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum . Meta-analyic research supports the notion that attachment is operant based learning Dunst, C.J. & Kassow, D.Z. (2008). Caregiver Sensitivity, Contingent Social Responsiveness, and Secure Infant Attachment. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention, 5(1), 40-56BAO An infant’s sensitivity to contingencies can be affected by biological factors. This, in conjunction with being placed in erratic environments which contain few contingencies, can set the child up to have conduct problems, and lack of contingencies in the environment can lead to depression (see Behavioral Development and Depression below).Cairns, R.B.(1979). The analysis of social interaction: Methods, issues, and illustrations. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawerence EarlbaumQuay, H.C(1987). Patterns of delinquent behavior. In H.C. Quay (Ed.). Handbook of Juvenile Delinquency (pp. 118-138). New York: Wiley Research continues to look at the effects of learning-based attachment on moral development, and has found that erratic use of contingencies by parents early in life can produce devastating effects later for the child.Commons, M.L. (1991). A comparison and synthesis of Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theories and Gerwitz's learning-developmental attachment theories. In J.L. Gewirtz & W.M. Kurtines (Eds.), Intersections with attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: ErlbaumCommons, M.L & Miller, P.M. (2007).How Early Negative Caregiving:Experiences Relate to Stage of Attachment. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 13, 14-17.BAO Motor development Behavior analysts have held since the days of Watson that motor development represents a conditioning process. The argument is that crawling, climbing, and even the walking displayed by all typical infants represents conditioning of biologically pre-programmed reflexes. In this view, the nature end is represented by the innate respondent behavior (stepping) and these reflexes are environmentally conditioned through experience and practice. This position was critiqued by maturation theorists. On criticism was that the stepping reflex for infants appeared to disappear and thus was not "continuous." While working from a slightly different theoretical model but using operant conditioning and opportunity to respond techniques, Esther Thelen was able to show that children's stepping reflex disappears as a function of increased physical weight but if infants are placed in water, it returns.Savelsbergh, G.J.P. (2005) Discovery Of Motor Development: A Tribute To Esther Thelen. The Behavior Analyst Today, 6(4), 243-249 BAOThelen, E., & Fisher, D. M. (1982). Newborn stepping: An explanation for a ‘‘disappearing reflex.’’Developmental Psychology, 18, 760–775.This offered a plausible model for the continuity of the stepping reflex and thus the progressive stimulation model of the behavior analysts. Indeed, infants deprived of physical stimulation or the opportunity to respond were found to have delayed motor development.Dennis, W.(1960). Causes of retardation among institutional children: Iran. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 96, 47-59.Dennis, W. & Najarian, P.(1957). Infant development under environmental handicap. Psychological Monograph, 71(No. 436) . Under conditions of extra stimulation the motor behavior of these children rapidly improved.Sayegh, Y. & Dennis, W.(1965). The effects of supplementary experience upon behavioral development of infants in institutions. Child Development, 36, 81-90. One area of research has shown that treadmilling can be beneficial to children with motor delays including Down syndrome and cerebral palsyMasiello,T., & Tucker, L .(2006). Influences of treadmill training on the motor developmentof infants with and without disabilities. Bridges, 4(5), 1-17. http://www.researchtopractice.info/bridges/bridges_vol4_no5.pdf Research on opportunity to respond and the building of motor development continues today.Cautilli, J.D.& Dziewolska, H. (2005). A Brief Report: Can Contingent Imitation Reinforce Truck Lifting In A Three-Month-Old Infant? The Behavior Analyst Today, 6.(4), 229 -234.BAODziewolska, H. & Cautilli, J.D. (2006). The Effects of a Motor Training Package on Minimally Assisted Standing Behavior in a Three- Month-Old Infant. The Behavior Analyst Today, 7.(1), 111-124BAO Cautilli, J.D. & Dziewolska, H. (2006). Brief Report: The Use of Opportunity to Respond and Practice to increase efficiency of the stepping reflex in a five-month-old infant - The Behavior Analyst Today, 7(4), '' 538-547.BAO The behavioral development model of motor activity has produced a number of techniques including operant based biofeedback to facilitate development with success. Some of the stimulation methods such as operant based biofeedback have been applied as treatment to children with cerebral palsy and even spinal injury successfully.Ince L., Brucker B. and Alba A. (1977): Behavioral techniques applied to the care of patients with spinal cord injuries. In J. Kamiya, T. X. Barber, N. E. Miller, D. Shapiro and J. Stoyva(Eds.). Biofeedback and Self-control. Chicago, IL: Alpine, 515-523. Brucker B. (1983): Spinal cord injuries. In Burish and Bradley (Ed.). Coping with Chronic Disease: Research and Applications. New York: Academic Press, 285-311.Brucker B. (1984): Biofeedback in rehabilitation. In Golden (Ed.). ''Current Topics in Rehabilitation Psychology. San Diego, California: Grune and Stratton, 173-199Brucker B. and Ince L. (1979): Biofeedback as an experimental treatment for postural hypotension in a patient with a spinal cord lesion. In J. Stoyva, J. Kamiya, T.X. Barber, N. E. Miller and D. Shapiro (Eds.). Biofeedback and Self Control. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine, 557-561. Brucker's group demonstrated that specific operant conditioning based biofeedback procedures can be effective in establishing more efficient use of remaining and surviving central nervous system cells after injury or after birth complications as in cerebral palsy.Brucker B. (1980): Biofeedback and rehabilitation. In L. P. Ince (Ed.). Behavioral Psychology in Rehabilitation Medicine: Clinical Applications. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 188-217.Miller N., and Brucker B. (1981): A learned visceral response apparently independent of skeletal ones in patients paralyzed by spinal lesions. In D. Shapiro, J. Stoyva, J.Kamiya, T. X. Barber, N. E. Miller and G. E. Schwartz (Eds.). Biofeedback and behavioral medicine. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine, 355-372 While such methods are not a cure and gains tend to be in the moderate range, they do show ability to enhance funcitoning.Brucker, B.S., and Bulaeva, N.V. (1996).Biofeedback effect on electromyography responses in patients with spinal cord injury.Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 77, No. 2 133-137. Imitation and verbal behavior As early as the 1920’s, behaviorists were studying verbal behavior.Watson, J.B. (1924). Talking and thinking. In J.B Watson’s Behaviorism. Norton, New York.Kantor, J.R. (1929). Can psychology contribute to the study of linguistics? The Monist, 38, 630-648Weiss, A.P.(1929). The language responses. In A.P. Weiss’s (Ed.) A theoretical basis of human behavior. Adams, Columbus, Oh Esper (1920) studied associative models of language,Esper, E.A. (1925). A technique for the experimental investigation of associative inference in artificial linguistic systems. Language Monographs No. 1 which has evolved into the current language interventions of matrix training and recombinative generalization.Mineo, D.A. & Goldstein, H.(1990). Generalized learning of receptive and expressive action-object responses by language delayed preschoolers. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 55, 665-678Wetherby, B.(1978). Miniature language and the functional analysis of verbal behavior. In R. Schiefelbusch (Ed.), Bases of language intervention (pp. 397-448). Baltimore: University Park Press. A comprehensive taxonomy of language for speakers was laid down by Skinner (1957)Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. New York: Appleton and for the listener Zettle and Hayes (1989) with Don Baer providing a developmental analysis of rule governed behaviorRiegler, H. C., & Baer, D. M. (1989). A developmental analysis of rule-following. In H. W. Reese (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 21). San Diego: Academic Press.. Language learning according to Skinner (1957) depended on environmental variables, which are mastered by an active child through imitation (echoic behavior), practice, and selective reinforcement including automatic reinforcement. B.F. Skinner was one of the first psychologists to take the role of imitation in verbal behavior as a serious mechanism for acquisition.Lopez-Ornat, S. & Gallo, P. (2004) Acquisition, learning, or development of language? Skinner's verbal behavior revisited. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 7(2), 161-170. Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. He identified the echoic as one of his basic verbal operants and postulated that verbal behavior was learned by an infant from a verbal community. Skinner's account takes verbal behavior beyond an intraindivdual process to an interindividual process of particular interest is that he even defined verbal behavior as "behavior reinforced through the mediation of othersSkinenr, B.F. (1957), page 4Skinner’s book was replied to by Noam Chomsky. Chomsky, N. (1959). Review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior. Language, 35, 26-58 Initial behavioral replies were late but included comments on Chomsky’s lack of understanding of behaviorism and the concept of the response class(Richelle, M.(1976). Formal and functional analysis of verbal behavior: Notes on the debate between Chomsky and Skinner. Behaviorism, 4, 209-211.) (2) comprehensive reviews of the science and what still needs to be demonstratedMacCorquodale, K.(1970). On Chomsky's review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 13, 83-99 (3) historical and linguistic looks at the debate to place it in contextAndresen, J.T.(1990). Skinner and Chomsky thirty years later: Or return of the repressed. Historiographica Linguistica, 17, 145-166 and (4) philosophy of science discussions for clarifying the differences.Palmer, D.C. & Donahoe, J.W. (1992). Essentialism and selectionism in cognitive science and behavior analysis. American Psychologist, 47, 1344-1358. Myths have developed around behaviorism, for example suggesting behaviorism rejects biology, even a cursory read of Skinner (1981)Skinner, B.F.(1981). Selection by consequence. Science, 213, 501-504 shows that not to be the case. Four typical linguistic arguments all seem not to be valid (1) the poverty of the stimulus (2) negative feedback is negligible and (3) input does not predict later output. Much of the research exposing these myths was reviewed in Moerk (1996) and readers are referred to that paper.Moerk, E.(1996). Input and learning processes in first language acquisition. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 26, 181-229. Research has presented a compelling case that environmental factors are important in the acquisition of verbal behavior.Moerk, E.L. (1986). Environmental factors in early language acquisition. In G. J. Whitehurst (Ed.), Annals of child development (Vol. 3). Greenwich, CT:JAI press.Moerk, E.L.(1989). The LAD was a lady and the tasks were ill defined. Developmental Review, 9, 21-57. Observational learning plays a particularly important role in language learning.Whitehurst, G.J. & Vasta, R.(1975). Is language learned through imitation? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 4, 37-59.Whitehurst, G.J. & Novak, G.(1973). Modeling, imitation, and the acquisition of sentence phrases. Journal of the Experimental Child Psychology, 16, 332-345. Research seems to support the notion that imitation is progressiveMoerk, E.L.(1977). Processes and roducts of imitation: Additional evidence that imitation is progressive. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 6, 187-202. In general research supports the three term contingency patterns suggested by behavior analystsMoerk, E.L. (1990). Three term contingency patterns in mother child verbal interactions during first-language acquisition. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 54, 293-305 In addition, reinforcement appears to have a role.Whitehurst, G.J. & Valdez-Mechaca, M.C.(1988). What is the role of reinforcement in language acquisition? Child Development, 59, 430-440. Meta analysis has shown that there even seems to be a large role for corrections.Moerk, E.L.(1983). A behavior analysis of conversational topics in first language acquisition. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 12, 129-155Moerk, E.L.(1983). A behavior analysis of controversial topics in first language acquisition: Reinforcement, corrections, modeling, input frequencies, and the three term contingency pattern. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 12, 129-155. Meork (1994) conducted a meta-analysis of 40 studies and found substantial evidence that corrections played a role. From this work, corrections are not only abundant but contingent on the mistakes of the child.Moerk, E.L. (1994). Corrections in first language acquisition: Theorectial controversies and factual evidence. International Journal of Psycholinguistics, 10, 33-58 In the behavioral model, the child is prepared to contact the contingencies for "joining" the listener and speaker.Greer, R. D., & Keohane, D. (2006): The Evolution of Verbal Behavior in Children - SLP- ABA, 1(2), '' 111-140BAO At the very core, verbal episodes involve rotation of speaker and listener exchanges between individuals and even within the same person<.Reese, H.W. (2004). Private Speech and Other Forms of Self-Communication, ''The Behavior Analyst Today, 5 (2), 182-189BAO Skinner(1957). Verbal Behavior. Croft These exchanges what has been termed the conversational unitsRoss, D.E., Nuzzolo, R., Stolfi, L., and Natarelli, S. (2006). Effects of Speaker Immersion on the Spontaneous Speaker Behavior of Preschool Children with Communication Delays. JEIBI 3 (1), 135-145 - BAO and have been the focus of considerable research at Columbia's communication disorders department. Conversational units may be one of the strongest measures of socialization in that they consists of verbal interactions in which each party in a turn-taking exchange is reinforced as both speaker and listener.Greer, R. D., & Ross, D. E. (2004). Verbal behavior analysis: A program of research in the induction and expansion of complex verbal behavior. Journal of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, 1(2). 141-165. BAO Chu (1998) demonstrated contextual conditions for inducing and expanding conversational units between children with autism and non-handicapped siblings in two separate experiments.Chu, H. C. (1998). A comparison of verbal-behavior and social-skills approaches for development of social interaction skills and concurrent reduction of aberrant behaviors of children with developmental disabilities in the context of matching theory. (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 1998). Abstract from: UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations on-line. Dissertations Abstracts Item: AAT 9838900. The acquisition of conversational units and the expansion of verbal behavior decrease incidences of physical “ aggression” in the Chu studyChu, H. C. (1998). and several other reviews suggest similar effects.Patterson, G.R. (2002). Etiology and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Antisocial Behavior. The Behavior Analyst Today, 3 (2), 133-144 BAO Cautilli, J., & Tillman, T.C. (2004). Evidence Based Practice in the Home and School to Help Educate the Socially Maladjusted Child. JEIBI 1 (1), 28-35 BAOBevill-Davis, A., Clees, T.J. & Gast, D.L. (2004). Correspondence Training: A Review of the Literature. JEIBI 1 (1), 14-28 BAO The joining of the listener and speaker progresses from listener speaker rotations with others as a likely precedent for the three major components of speaker-as-own listener—say so correspondence, self-talk conversational units, and naming. Greer, R.D. & Speckman, J.M. (in press).The Integration of Speaker and Listener Responses: A Theory of the Development of Verbal Behavior.'' The Psychological Record.'' Moerk laid down the basis of opernat response to common linguist criticisms of the behavioral view Moerk, E.L. (1996). Input and learning processes in first language acquisition. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 26, 181-228. Development of self Robert Kohelenberg and Mavis Tsai proposed a behavior analytic model to account for the development of the "self".Kohlenberg, R. & Tsai, M.(1991). Functional analytic psychotherapy: Building intense and curative relationships. Plenum Press In their model, the self develops as a product of reinforcement of verbal behavior in three stages. In the first stage the child receives reinforcement for statements such as "I am hot", "I am hungry" etc. Through the process of abstracting (higher order stimulus control), the statement "I am" emerges. Through the reinforcement on many statements such as "I am", "I feel", and "I think" gradually, the "I" abstracts out. This model has not received much research attention; however, it does explain various forms of psychopathology with difficulties in the emerging "self" such as insecurity, narcissistic personality disorders, borderline personality disorders, etc. It holds that they forms of pathology come from frequent invalidations of the above defined statements so that the "I" does not emerge. The above model has created a unique treatment called Functional Analytic Psychotherapy for such disorders. Other behavior analytic models for personality disorders exist.Nelson-Gray, R.O, Mitchell, J.T., Kimbrel, N.A., & Hurst, R.M. (2007). The Development and Maintenance of Personality Disorders: A Behavioral Perspective. The Behavior Analyst Today, VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4, 443-445 BAO They trace out the complex biological-environmental interaction for the development of avoidant and borderline personality disorders. They focus on Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, which states that some individuals are more or less sensitive to reinforcement then others. Nelson-Grey views problematic response classes as being maintained by reinforcing consequences or through rule governance. Socialization Studies in this area have focused on the extended pattern of using rewards for behavior over time. The model focuses on two levels: micro- and macro-analysis. The ‘’micro-analysis‘’ level focuses on moment-to-moment interactions while a ‘’macro-analysis‘’ does so with parenting variables. Over the last few decades, longitudinal studies have supported the idea that contingent use of reinforcement and punishment over extended periods of time lead to the development of prosocial, as well as antisocial behavior. Midlarsky and colleagues (1973) used a combination of modeling and reinforcement to build altruistic behavior.Midlarsky, E., Bryan, J.H., & Brickman, P.(1973). Aversive approval: Interactive effects of modeling and reinforcement on altruistic behavior. Child Development, 44, 321-328 At least two studies exist in which modeling by itself did not increase prosocial behavior;Harris, M.B.(1970). Reciprocity and generosity: Some determinants of sharing in children.'' Child Development, 41,'' 313-328.Elliot, R., & Vasta, R.(1970). Effects associated with vicarious reinforcement, symbolization, age, and generalization. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 10, 8-15 however, modeling is much more effective than instruction-giving such as "preaching."Bryan, J.H. & Walbek, N.H.(1970). Impact of words and deeds concerning altruism upon children. Child Development, 41, 747-759Bryan, J.H. & Walbek, N.(1970). Preaching and practicing generosity: Children's action and reaction. Child Development, 41, 329-353. The role of rewards has been implicated in the building of self-controlBarry, L.M. & Haraway, D.L. (2005). Self-Management and ADHD: A Literature Review. The Behavior Analyst Today, 6.(1), 48-64BAO and empathy.Maccoby, E.M(1968). The development of moral values and behavior in childhood. In J.A. Clausen's (Ed). Socialization and Society. Little Brown Books: BostonAronfreed, J.(1968). Conduct and conscience: The socializing of internalized control of overt behavior. New York: Academic PressAronfreed, J. (1970). The socialization of altruistic and sympathetic behavior: Some theoretical and experimental analysis. In J. Macauley & L. Berkowitz (Eds.) Altruism and helping behavior. New York: Academic Press. Cooperation seems particularly susceptible to rewards.Azrin, N. & Lindsley, O.(1956). The reinforcement of cooperation between children.'' Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 2,'' 100-102Mithaug, E.D., & Burgess, R.L.(1968). The effects of different reinforcement contingencies in the development of social cooperation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 6, 402-426.Vogler, R.E., Masters, W.M. & Merrill, G.S.(1970). Shaping cooperative behavior in young children. Journal of Psychology, 74, 181-186.Vogler, R.E., Masters, W.M., & Merrill, G.S.(1971). Extinction of cooperative behavior as a function of acquisition by shaping or instruction. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 119, 233-240. Sharing is another prosocial behavior influenced by reinforcement.Doland, D.J. & Adelberg, K.(1967). The learning of sharing behavior. Child Development, 38, 695-700Gelfand, D.M., Hartmann, D.P., Cromer, C.C., Smith, C.L., & Page, B.C.(1975). The effects of instructional prompts and praise on children's donation rates. Child Development, 46, 980-983 Reinforcement is particularly effective, at least early in the learning series, if context conditions are similar.Fisher, W.F.(1963). Sharing in preschool as a function of the amount and type of reinforcement. Genetic Psychology Monograph, 68, 215-245. Evidence exists to show some generalization.Altman, K.(1971). Effects of cooperative response acquisition on social behavior during free play.'' Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 12'', 387-395 While reinforcement is generally accepted, the role of punishment has been more controversial. An interesting batch of studies exist in the research on the role of punishment. One study found that donation rates of children could be increased by punishing episodes of failure to donate.Hartmann, D.P., Gelfand, D.M., Smith, C.L., Paul, S.C., Cromer, C.C., Page, B.C. & Lebenta, D.V.(1976). Factors affecting the acquisition and elimination of children's donating behavior. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 21, 328-338 The socialization process continues by teachers and by peers with reinforcement and punishment playing major roles. Peers are more likely to punish cross gender play and reinforce play specific to gender.Fagot, B.I.., & Patterson, G.R.(1969). An in vivo analysis of reinforcing contingencies for sex role behaviors in the preschool child. Developmental Psychology Lamb, M.E. & Roopnarine, J.L. (1979). Peer influences on sex role development in preschoolers. Child Development, 50, 1219-1222Lamb, M.E., Easterbrooks, M.A., & Holden, G.(1980). Reinforcement and punishment among preschoolers: Characteristics and Corrales. Child Development, 51, 1230-1236 In the school older studies found that teachers were more likely to reinforce dependent behavior in females.Serbin, L.O'Leary, K., Kent, R., & Tonick, I.(1973). A comparison of teacher responses to pre-academic and problem behavior of boys and girls. Child Development, 44, 796-804 Such patterns have been found to contribute to gender differences at least in the short run.Serbin, L., Connors, J., & Citron, C.(1978). Environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors in preschool boys and girls: A model for early independence training.'' Sex Roles, 4,'' 867-875 Behavioral principles have also been researched in emerging peer groups with focus on status. Coie, J.D. & Kupersmidt, J.B. (1983). A Behavioral Analysis of Emerging Social Status in Boys' Groups.'' Child Development, Vol. 54, No. 6,'' 1400-1416 Such research has found that neglected boys are the least interactive and aversive, yet remain relatively unknown in groups. In addition, this research suggests that it takes different social skills to enter groups than to maintain or build status in groups. Other research has found that withdrawn behavior can be decreased with a corresponding increase in social interactions for children. Allen, K.E., Hart, B., Buell, J.S., Harris, F.R. & Wolf, M.M. (1964).Effects of Social Reinforcement on Isolate Behavior of a Nursery School Child. Child Development, Vol. 35(2), 511-518 In short, children have been shown to imitate peers. One study reported on average 13 imitative acts/child/hour.Abramovitch, R., & Grusec, J.E.(1978). Peer imitation in a natural setting. Child Development, 49, 60-65. In addition, peers frequently reinforce each other’s behavior Charlesworth, R. & Hartup, W.W. (1967). Positive social reinforcement in the nursery school per group. Child Development, 38, 993-1002.Furman, W. & Masters, J.C.(1980). Affective consequences of social reinforcement, punishment, and neutral behavior. Developmental Psychology, 16, 100-104 Among the aspects of social development responsive to peer reinforcement are sex-typed behavior,Lamb, M.E., Easterbrooks, M.A., & Holden, G.W.(1980). Reinforcement and punishment among preschoolers: Characteristics, effects, and correlates. Child Development, 51, 1230-1236Lamb, M.E. & Roopnarine, J.L.(1979). Peer influences on sex-role development in preschoolers. Child Development, 50, 1219-1222. modes of initiating interactionLeiter, M.P.(1977). A study of reciprocity in preschool play groups. Child Development, 48, 1288-1295. and aggression.Patterson, G.R., Littman, R.A., & Bricker, W.(1967). Assertive behavior in children: A step toward a theory of aggression. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 32 (5, Serial No. 113). This lead to comprehensive behavioral models for moral and social behavior. Recent efforts by Pelaez-Nogueras & Gewirtz (1995)Pelaez-Nogueras, M., & Gewirtz, J. L. (1995). The learning of moral behavior: A behavior-analytic approach. In W. M. Kurtines & J.L. Gewirtz (Eds.), Moral behavior: An introduction, (pp. 173–199). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. are of interest in the generation of a comprehensive behavioral development model of moral and social behavior. Their behavior-analytical approach to a comprehensive model highlights how the basic behavioral processes are thought to be involved in the acquisition and maintenance of early moral behavior patterns. Their analysis emphasizes that what has been termed “moral” behavior of an individual is ultimately the result of a history of socio-environmental contingencies affected by the consequences of that individual’s behavior. They illustrated how the operant-learning paradigm, with its emphasis on action and extrinsic stimuli, can account for much moral behavior as an outcome of conditioning processes. In this analysis, various processes are proposed for pre- and post-language acquisition individuals, taking into account behaviors that are public or private, non-verbal or verbal, and that may denote altruism, empathy, self-sacrifice, sharing, caring, conscience, justice, loyalty, or virtue. In this conceptual work, they noted the distinction between direct contingency-shaped behavior and rule-governed behavior in which moral behavior is seen initially as under the control of nonverbal direct contingencies in pre-linguistic children. Later, with advances in the child’s language skills, much of that behavior is seen as coming under the control of verbal explicit rules (including both those that are self-formulated and those provided by others). This behavior analytic approach details the features of the operant-learning paradigm efficiently to explain the very same phenomena in the moral realm; that behavioral, cognitive, and mental theories have targeted at the same time that it attempts to fill in details that cognitive-developmental postulates seem to require. Moreover, this work offered a basic behavior analytic explanation of moral phenomena not previously analyzed. They emphasized behavioral outcomes as well as antecedent and concurrent verbalizations of those behaviors (including verbal reasoning and moral judgment that have been the study matter of cognitive-developmental theories); the model may provide some leads on how to deal with overt actions in the moral realm. Children with social problems do appear to benefit from behavior therapy and behavior modification based on behavior analytic principles (see Applied Behavior Analysis). For example, modeling has been used to increase participation by shy and withdrawn children.Jakibuchuk, Z. & Smeriglio, V.L.(1976). The influence of symbolic modeling on the social behavior of preschool children with low levels of social responsiveness. Child Development, 47, 838-841. One of the strongest effects seems to be shaping of socially desirable behavior through positive reinforcementO'Connor, R.D.(1972). Relative efficacy of modeling, shaping, and the combined procedure for the modification of social withdrawal. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 79, 327-334. Antisocial behavior In the development of antisocial behavior, etiological models for antisocial behavior show considerable correlation with negative reinforcement and response matching (see matching law). Snyder,J., Stoolmiller,M., Patterson, G.R., Schrepferman,L.,Oeser,J., Johnson,K., & Soetaert, D. (2003). The Application of Response Allocation Matching to Understanding Risk Mechanisms in Development: The Case of Young Children’s Deviant Talk and Play, and Risk for Early-Onset Antisocial Behavior. The Behavior Analyst Today, 4 (4), 435-453.Behavior Analyst OnlineSnyder,J., & Patterson, G.R. (1995). Individual differences in social aggression: A test of a reinforcement model of socialization in the natural environment. Behavior Therapy, 26, 371-391. Such models have consistently found a role for escape conditioning through the use of coercive behavior as having a powerful effect on the development and use of future antisocial tactics. From this view, antisocial behavior can be seen as functional for the child in moment to moment interactions. The rate of pro-social tactics used to antisocial tactics used during conflicts is directly proportional to the payoff.Snyder,J., & Patterson, G.R. (1995). Individual differences in social aggression: A test of a reinforcement model of socialization in the natural environment. Behavior Therapy, 26, 371-391. This model explains 76% of the variance in child's chosen tactics and over 56% of the variance in the parents chosen tactics. Finally, the tactic payoff model was replicated and shown to predict arrest rates two years later.Snyder,J., Schepferman, L. & St. Peter, C. (1997). Origins of antisocial behavior: Negative reinforcement and affect dysregulation of behavior as socialization mechanisms in family interaction. Behavior Modification, 21, 187-215 For a complete review see (Synder (2002).Snyder, J. & Stoolmiller, M.(2002). Reinforcement and coercion mechanisms in the development of antisocial behavior: The family. In J.B. Reid, G.R. Patterson, & J. Snyder (Eds.). Antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: A developmental analysis and model for intervention. APA Books Interventions based on this model are developing as enhancements to the typical behavioral parent training modelRobert G. Wahler (2004): Direct and Indirect Reinforcement Processes in Parent Training. JEIBI 1 (2), Pg. 120-128 The role of stimulus control has also been extensively explored in the development of antisocial behaviorPatterson, G.R., Reid, J.B. & Eddy, J.M.(2002). A brief history of the Oregon model. In J.B Reid, G.R. Patterson, & J. Snyder (Eds.) Antisocial behavior in children and adolescents: A developmental analysis and model for interventions. APA Press Using lag sequential analysis; researchers have been able to describe the immediate impact of one person's behavior on another in the family. Such patterns showed that overlearning was so rampant that the behavior was automatic and cognitive awareness was neither necessary nor sufficient to explain the interactionsPatterson, G.R. (1977). A three stage functional analysis for children's coercive behaviors: A tactic for developing a performance theory. In D. Baer, B.C. Etzel, & J.M. L. Blanc (Eds). New developments in behavioral research: Theories, methods, and applications in honour of Sidney W. Bijou (pp. 59-79). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesPatterson, G.R. & Cobb, J.A.(1973). Stimulus control for classes of noxious behavior. In J.F. Knutson (Ed.).'' The control of aggression: Implications from basic research'' (pp. 144-199). Chicago: Adline Recent behavioral focus in the study of antisocial behavior has been a focus on rule governed behavior. While correspondence for saying and doing has long been an interest for behavior analysts in normal development and typical socialization,Osnes, P.G. and Adelinis, J. (2005).Correspondence Training, Rule Governance, Generalization,and Stimulus Control: Connections or Disconnections? Behavioral Development Bulletin, 1(1), 48-55 BAOAlicia Bevill-Davis, Tom J. Clees & David L. Gast (2004): Correspondence Training: A Review of the Literature. JEIBI 1 (1), 14-27 BAOPeleaz, M. & Moreno, R.(1998). A taxonomy of rules and their correspondence in rule governed behavior. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 24(2), 197-214. recent conceptualizations have been built around families that actively train children in antisocial rulesSnyder, J.J., McEachern, A., Schrepferman, L., Zettle, R., Johnson, K., Swink, N. and McAlpine, C. (2006): Rule-Governance, Correspondence Training, and Discrimination Learning: A Developmental Analysis of Covert Conduct Problems. SLP-ABA, 1(1), 43-65 BAO as well as children who fail to develop rule controlBarry, L.M. and Haraway, D.L. (2005). Behavioral Self-Control Strategies for Young Children. JEIBI 2 (2), 79-89 BAO Developmental depression with origins in childhood Behavioral theory of depression was outlined by Charles Ferster.Ferster, C.B.(1973). A functional analysis of depression.'' American Psychologist, 28,'' 857-870. A later revision was provided by Peter Lewisohn and Hyman Hops. Hops continued the work on the role of negative reinforcement in maintaining depression with Anthony Biglan.Hops, H(1992). Parental depression and child behaviour problems: Implications for behavioural family intervention. Behavior Change, 9(3), 126-138.Hops, H., Biglan, A., Sherman, L. Arhr, J., Freidman, L. & Osteen, V.(1987). Home observation of family interactions of depressed woman. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(3), 341-346Biglan, A., Hops, H., & Sherman, L.(1988). Coercive family processes and maternal depression. In R.D. Peters & R.J. McMahon (Eds.). Social learning and systems approaches to marriage and family. (pp. 72-103). New York: Brunner/Mazel.Biglan, A., Rothlind, J., Hops, H., & Sherman, L.(1989). Impact of distressed and aggressive behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98(3), 218-228. Additional factors such as the role of loss of contingent relations through extinction and punishment were taken from early work of Martin Seligman. The most recent summary and conceptual revisions of the behavioral model was provided by Johnathan Kanter. Kanter,J. W, Cautilli, J.D., Busch, A.M. & Baruch, D.E. (2005). Toward a Comprehensive Functional Analysis of Depressive Behavior: Five Environmental Factors and a Possible Sixth and Seventh. The Behavior Analyst Today, 6.(1), 65-74.BAO The standard model is that depression has multiple paths to develop. It can be generated by five basic processes, including: lack or loss of positive reinforcement,In addition, to loss of reinforcement the loss of contingency between behavior and reinforcement can also lead to depression direct positive or negative reinforcement for depressive behavior, lack of rule-governed behavior or too much rule governed behavior, and/or to much environmental punishment. For children, some of these variables could set the pattern for lifelong problems. For example, a child whose depressive behavior functions for negative reinforcement by stopping fighting between parents could develop a lifelong pattern of depressive behavior in the case of conflicts. Two paths that are particularly important are (1) lack or loss of reinforcement because of missing necessary skills at a developmental cusp point or (2) the failure to develop adequate rule governed behavior. For the latter, the child could develop a pattern of always choosing the short term small immediate reward (i.e., escaping studying for a test) at the expense of the long term larger reward (failing courses in middle school). The treatment approach that emerged from this research is called Behavioral activation. In addition, use of positive reinforcement has been shown to improve symptoms of depression in childrenRawson, HE & Tabb, LC(1993). Effects of therapeutic intervention on childhood depression. Child and Adolesent Social Work Journal, 10, 39-53 In addition, reinforcement has been shown to improve self concept in children with depression comorbid with learning difficulties Rawson, H.E. & Cassady, J.C. (1995).Effects of therapeutic intervention on self-concepts of children with learning disabilities.Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 12(1), 19-31 . Rawson and Tabb (1993) used reinforcement with 99 students (90 males and 9 females) ages from 8 to 12 years old with behavior disorders in a residential treatment program and showed significant reduction in depression symptoms compared to the control group. Cognitive behavior As children get older, direct control of contingencies is modified by the presence of rule governed behaviorKendler, H. & Kendler, T. (1975). From discrimination learning to cogntive development: A neobehavioristic odyessey. In W.K. Estes (Ed.), Handbook of learning and cognitive processes (Vol 1). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawerence Erlbaum Associaties. Rules serve as an establishing operation and set a motivational stage as well as a discrimintative stage for behaviorSchlinger, H. D., Jr. (1995). A Behavior Analytic View of Child Development. NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum PublishersWhile the size of the effects on intellectual development are less clear, it appears that stimulation does have a facilitative effect on intellectual ability. Dunst, C.J., Raab, M., Wilson, L.L. and Parkey, C.(2007). Relative Efficiency Of Stimulation. The Behavior Analyst Today 8(2), 226-236. BAO However, it is important to be sure not to confuse the enhancing effect with the initial causal effect. Rondal, J.A. and Docquier, L (2006). Maternal Speech To Children With Down Syndrome: An Update - SLP - ABA, 1.(3), Page 218-226 BAO Some data exists to show that children with developmental delays take more learning trials to acquire in materialHutto, M. (2003).Latency to learn in contingency studies of young children with disabilities or developmental delays Bridges, 1(5), 1-16. http://www.researchtopractice.info/bridges/bridges_vol1_no5.pdf Learned units and developmental retardation Behavior analysts have spent considerable time measuring learning in the classroom and in the home. During the course of this work, they have often presented evidence of the role of lack of stimulation in the development of mild and moderate mental retardardation.Bijou, S. W. (1966). A functional analysis of retarded development. In N. R.. Ellis (Ed.), International Review of Research in Mental Retardation. NY: Academic Press. Recent work has been on a model of "developmental retardation".Greenwood, C.R., Hart, B., Walker, D. & Risley, T.(1994). The opportunity to respond and academic performance revisited: A behavioral theory of developmental retardation and its prevention. In R. Gardener, D.M. Sainato, J.O. Cooper, T.E. Heron, W.L. Heward, J. Eshleman, & T.A. Grossi (Eds.), Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction (pp. 161-171) Pacific Grove, CA: Brookes-Cole Often research in this area looks at cumulative environmental effects and how they create developmental delays. The opportunity to respond is defined as an instructional antecedent and its success in getting the appropriate response, sometimes fluency is used to measure this.Greenwood, Ward & Luze: (2003) The Early Communication Indicator (ECI) for Infants and Toddlers: What It Is, Where It’s Been, and Where It Needs to Go. The Behavior Analyst Today, 3 (4), 383 -392 BAO The learned unit is defined as the opportunity to respond plus reinforcementGreer,D., Keohane, D. & Healy (2002) Quality and Comprehensive Applications of Behavior Analysis to Schooling. The Behavior Analyst Today, 3 (2), 120-132 In one study using this model, students' time of instruction was compared in affluent schools to poorer schools. Actual amount of instruction received revealed that poorer school lost on average about 15 minutes/day in instruction due to issues of classroom management and behavior management issues. This compiled to 2 years worth of lost instructional time by the 10th grade.Greenwood, C.R., Carta, J.J., Hart, B., Kamps, D., Terry, D., Delquardi, J.C., Walker, D., & Risley, T.R.(1992). Out of the laboratory and into the community: Twenty-six years of applied behavior analysis at Juniper Gardens Children Center. American Psychologist, 47, 1464-1474 The goal of such behavior analytic research is to provide methods for reducing the overall number of children who fall into the retardation range of development by behavioral engineering.Bijou, S. W. (1983). The prevention of mild and moderate retarded development. In F. J. Menolascino, R. Neman, & J. A. Stark (Eds.),'' Curative aspects of mental retardation: Biomedical and behavioral advances (pp. 223-241).'' Baltimore: Brookes. Probably the most extensive study to date has been the work of Hart and Risely (1995, 1999).Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore: BrookesHart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1999). The social world of children learning to talk. Baltimore: Brookes These authors contrasted the rates of parent communication with children at the age of 2-4 years old and correlated it with IQ scores for children at age nine. The research showed that the more parents spoke to children, the higher the IQ, even after partialling out the effect for race, class, and socio-economic status. The authors reached the conclusion that to change IQ scores significantly, an interventionist would need to work with children at risk for close to 40 hours/week. As pointed out in the Bell Curve, no program to date has been effective in the long term change of IQ scores and producing significant corresponding changes in social class. Class formation The formation of class-like behavior has been of considerable interest to behavior analysts studying development. Extensive research has been done in this area.Zentall T.R, Galizio M, Critchfield T.S. (2002) Categorization, concept learning, and behavior analysis: An introduction. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. 78:''237–248 From this research, behavior analysts have offered multiple paths to the development and formation of class-like behavior. These paths include primary stimulus generalization,Goldiamond, I. (1966). Percetion, language, and conceptualization rules. In B. Kleinmutz (Ed.), ''Carnegie Institute of Technology Annual Symposium on Cognition. John Wiley & Sons, New York.Becker, W.C. (1971). Teaching concepts and operations, or how to make kids smart. In W.C. Becker (Ed.), An empirical basis for changing education. Science research associates. Palo Alto, CA. an analysis of abstractionSkinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. New York: Appleton.Herrnstein, R. 1990. Levels of stimulus control: A. functional approach. Cognition, 37, 133-166.Quine, W.V.O. (1953). From a logical point of view. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Quine, W.V.O,(1960). Word and Object. Cambridge. MA: MIT Press. Hawkins, A.S. (1964). Verbal identification of stimulus components in ambiguously named compounds. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1, 227-240Steiner, T.E. & Sobel, R. (1968). Intercomponent association formation during paired-associate training with compound stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77, 275-280. relational frame theoryBlackledge: (2003) An Introduction to Relational Frame Theory: Basics and Applications - The Behavior Analyst Today, 3 (4), 421-430BAOYvonne Barnes-Holmes, Louise McHugh, & Dermot Barnes-Holmes (2004) Perspective-Taking and Theory of Mind: A Relational Frame Account, The Behavior Analyst Today, 5 (1), 15-25BAO Hayes S.C, Hayes L.J. (1992). Verbal relations and the evolution of behavior analysis. American Psychologist.47:''1383–1395.Roche B, Barnes-Holmes Y, Barnes-Holmes D, Stewart I, O'Hora D.(2002). Relational Frame Theory: A new paradigm for the analysis of social behavior. The Behavior Analyst.25:75–91 stimulus class analysis (sometimes referred to as recombinative generalization),Esper, E.A. (1925). A technique for the experimental investigation of associative inference in artificial linguistic systems. Language Monographs No. 1.Wetherby, B.(1978). Miniature language and the functional analysis of verbal behavior. In R. Schiefelbusch (Ed.), Bases of language intervention (pp. 397-448). Baltimore: University Park Press. stimulus equivalence,Sidman M. (2000).Equivalence relations and the reinforcement contingency. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.74:127–146. PubMed and response class analysis.Krasner, L. (1958). Studies of conditioning of verbal behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 55, 148-170.Salzinger, K. (1959). Experimental manipulation of verbal behavior: A review. Journal of General Psychology, 61, 65-94Salzinger, K. (1967). The problem of response class in verbal behavior. In K. Salzinger and S. Salzinger (Eds.), Research in verbal behavior and some neurophysical implications. Academic Press, New York.Sailor, W. (1971). Reinforcement and generalization of productive plural allomorphs in two retarded children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 4, 305-310.Baer, D.M.(1982). The imposition of structure on behavior and the demolition of behavioral structures. In H.E. Howe (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, 29, 217-254.Baer, D.M. & Guess, D. (1973). Teaching productive noun suffixes to severely retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 77, 498-505. Of particular interest is the analysis of the response class. Multiple processes for class like formation provide behavior analysts with relatively pragmatic explanations for common issues of novelity and generalization. Responses organize in a form assembled by the particular form need to fit the environmental challenge at hand. Thus, the forms of the responses organize by responses functional consequences. Such large response classes can merge as in the case of contingency adduction.Andronis, P.T., Lang, T.V.J, & Goldiamond, I. (1997). Contingency adduction of “symbolic aggression” by pigeon. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 16, 10-23. Much more research needs to be done on the issue of contingency adduction, especially with a focus on how large classes of concepts shift. For example, as Piaget pointed out have a tendency at the pre-operational stage to have limits to their ability to conserver (Piaget & Szeminska, 1952). While training children to develop conservation skills has been generally successfulBucher, B. & Schneider, R.E. (1973). Acquisition and generalization of conservation by pre-schoolers, using operant training. ''Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 16, 187-204.Waghorn, L. & Sullivan, E.V. (1970). The exploration of transition rules in conservation of quantity (substance) using film mediated modeling. Acta Psychologica, 32, 65-80. it is by no means easy.Field, D. (1987). A review of preschool conservation training: An analysis of analyses. Developmental Review, 7, 210-251. Behavior analysts argue that this is largely due to the number of tool skills that need to be developed and integrated. Adduction offers a process by which such skills can be synthesized and hence warrants further attention, particularly by early interventionists. Even with this said, children who learn to conserve early do not appear to have any other life benefit from the learning process. This last brings up questions of the relevance of Piaget's model to development. Autism Ferster (1961) was the first to posit a behavior analytic theory for autismFerster, C. B. (1961). Positive reinforcement and the behavioral deficits of autistic children. Child Development, 32, 437-456. Ferster's model saw autism as a byproduct of social interactions between parent and child. Ferster presented an analysis of how a variety of contingencies of reinforcement between parent and child during the early years might establish and strengthen a repertoire of behaviors typically seen in children diagnosed with autism. A similar model was proposed by Drash and Tutor (1993). They developed the contingency-shaped or behavioral incompatibility theory of autism.Drash, P. W., & Tudor, R. M. (1993). A functional analysis of verbal delay in preschool children: Implications for prevention and total recovery. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 11, 19-29. They identify at least six reinforcement paradigms that may contribute to significant deficiency in verbal behavior that they identified and analyzed in their research with children labeled as autistic. They held that each of these paradigms may concurrently create a repertoire of avoidance responses that could contribute to the establishment of a repertoire of behavior that would be incompatible with the acquisition of age-appropriate verbal behavior. More recent models attribute autism to neurological and sensory models that play out overtime to produce the autistics repertoire. Lovaas and Smith (1989) proposed that children with autism has a mismatch between their nervous systems and the environmentLovaas, O. I., & Smith, T. (1989). A comprehensive behavior theory of autistic children: Paradigm for research and treatment. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 20, 17-29. Bijou and Ghezzi (1999) proposed a behavioral interference theory.Bijou, S. W., & Ghezzi, P. M. (1999). The behavior interference theory of autistic behavior in young children. In P. M. Ghezzi, W. L. Williams, & J. E. Carr (Eds.), Autism: Behavior analytic perspectives (pp. 33-43). Reno, NV: Context Press. However, some recent evidence for the environmental mismatch model was recently reviewed as well as the inference model. Hixson, M.D., Wilson,J.L., Doty,S.J. and Vladescu, J.C. (2008). A Review of the Behavioral Theories of Autism and Evidence for an Environmental Etiology. Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis. Special Compiled Issue 2.4 - 3.1, 46-59. BAO . From this article, it appears that some support exists to suggest that the development of ausitic behaviors are due to escape and avoidance of certain types of sensory stimuli.What seems to be the common feature of the behavioral models for autism is the stunning lack of research conducted on them. At this point, they remain mostly speculation. Role in education One of the biggest impacts that behavior analysis of child development has had is on the field of education. In the field of education, in 1968, Siegfried Englemann used operant conditioning techniques, a task analysis of curriculum, and combined them with rule learning to produce the Direct Instruction curriculum (see DISTAR).Engelmann, S. & Carnine, D. (1991). Theory of instruction: Principles and applications. Eugene, OR: ADI PressEnglemann, S.E.(1968). Relating operant techniques to programming and teaching. Journal of School Psychology, 6, 89-96. In addition, Fred S. Keller used similar techniques to develop programmed instruction. Skinner developed a programmed instruction curriculum for teaching hand writing. One of Skinner's students, Ogden Lindsley, developed a standardized semilogrithmic chart, the "Standard Behavior Chart" now "Standard Celeration Chart" for recording frequencies of behavior, and to allow direct visual comparisons of such frequencies and changes in those frequencies, termed "celeration". Use of this charting tool for analysis of instructional effect or other environmental variable by direct measurement of learner performance has become known as precision teaching. Critiques of behavioral approach and new developments Some have questioned if a behavioral approach to development is enough or if more traditional developmental variables play a causal role.Golden, J. (2007). Editorial – Introduction - Children with behavioral and emotional problems: Is their behavior explained only by complex learning, or do internal motives have a role? International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 3(4), 449-476. Particularly in areas of attachment.Aideuis, D.(2007).Promoting Attachment and Emotional Regulation of Children with Complex Trauma Disorder. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 3(4), 546-555.BAO While some questions remain, it is clear that, in general, response contingent learning opportunities produce strong emotional benefits and enhance emotional development.Dunst,C.J., Raab, M., Trivette, C.M., Parkey, C., Gatens, M., Wilson, L.L., French, J., Hamby, D.W. (2007). Child and Adult Social-Emotional Benefits of Response-Contingent Child Learning Opportunities. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, 4(2),379-391. BAO Behavior analytic theories have been criticized for focusing on explaining the acquisition of relatively simple behavior (the behavior of nonhuman species, of infants, and of individuals who are mentally retarded or autistic) rather than complex behavior (see Commons & Miller).Commons, M. L. & Miller, P. M. (2001) A Quantitative Behavioral Model of Developmental Stage Based upon the Model of Hierarchical Complexity. The Behavior Analyst Today, 2 (3), 222-252BAO. Michael Commons continued behavior analysis's rejecting of mentalism and substituted a task analysis of the particular skills to be learned. This approach shows that more complex behaviors combine and sequence less complex behaviors. This fact of hierarchical organization may be used to define the nature of stage and stage transition. In his new model, he has created a behavior analytic model of more complex behavior in line with more contemporary quantitative behavior analytic models. He calls this the model of hierarchical complexity. Commons (Commons, Trudeau, et. al 1998Commons, M. L., Trudeau, E. J., Stein, S. A., Richards, F. A., Krause, S. R. (1998). The existence of developmental stages as shown by the hierarchical complexity of tasks Developmental Review, 8(3). 237-278.) constructed the model of hierarchical complexity of tasks and their corresponding stages of performance using basically just three main axioms (see Model of hierarchical complexity).Commons, M. L., & Miller, P. M. (1998). A quantitative behavior-analytic theory of development. Mexican Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior. 24(2) 153-180. In the study of development, recent work has been generated around combining behavior analytic views with dynamical systems theoryNovak, G. & Pelaez, M. (2004). Child and adolescent development: A behavioral systems approach. Sage The added benefit of this approach is that it shows how small patterns of changes in behavior in terms of principles and mechanisms over time can produce substantial changes in development.Novak, G. & Pelaez, M.(2002). A behavior-analytic developmental model is better. Behavior and Brain Sciences, 25, 466-468. Current research in behavior analysis attempts to extend the patterns learned in childhood and to determine their impact on adult development. Professional support of behavior analytic model Journals – In response to the growing body of research in child development, the creation of two online journals devoted to behavior analysis and child development are the Behavioral Development Bulletin and an international journal online devoted to developmental pathology and its intervention - Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention Professional Organizations – The Association for Behavior Analysis International contains a special interest group on behavior analysis of child development. This group continues the research tradition outlined above. In addition, this group offers a Sidney Bijou award and scholarship for those studying child developments from a behavioral perspective. References